Efforts to build the George Washington University Museum took an important step forward on Thursday when the project was positively received at the D.C. Zoning Commission’s public hearing.
“The public hearing is an important step forward with this project, and the university is pleased with the support received from students and faculty at the hearing—including more than 10 students attending the hearing and 52 letters of support, as well as numerous key D.C. agencies,” said Senior Associate Vice President for Operations Alicia Knight.
The GW Museum will be located on 21st and G streets, incorporating both a new signature building facing 21st Street and the historic Woodhull House facing G Street to provide 35,000 square feet of new space. The museum will house gallery and exhibition spaces, including a double height gallery, and will provide collection, education and museum research facilities. In addition, the building will accommodate a library, staff offices and collections handling areas.
Kym Rice, director of GW’s Museum Studies Program, testified in support of the museum at Thursday’s hearing.
“For both faculty and students, academic museums and galleries are vital centers of participatory learning, interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and new research,” she said. “Even in a city with many museums, a campus museum is an important asset.”
Through its affiliations and its own collections, including the 19,000 works of the Textile Museum and the unparalleled Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection, the new GW Museum will link audiences, scholars and collections with other museums, cultural and academic organizations.
Sophomore April MacIntyre also testified in favor of the project.
“I see the GW Museum providing endless opportunities for the public and GW students to learn more about what goes into maintaining a variety of collections and creating successful museum programming,” she said.
The D.C. Zoning Commission requested additional clarification on technical issues in advance of its scheduled first vote on the museum project on May 14. Upon approval, the project would then receive a standard review by the National Capital Planning Commission before returning to the Zoning Commission for a second and final confirmation vote (likely this summer). Pending final approval, construction will begin later this year and is expected to be completed in 2014.
The project received the support of key D.C. government agencies, including the D.C. Office of Planning, the Historic Preservation Review Board and the D.C. Department of Transportation. Additionally, the Foggy Bottom Advisory Neighborhood Commission recently voted to not oppose this project, stating that the university has addressed potential issues that were raised by ANC members.
In addition to the museum itself, the university will construct a new facility dedicated to the study and care of the museum’s historic collections. This state-of-the-art conservation and resource center will be located on GW’s Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Va.
Detailed background information on the museum project is available in the campus development section of GW’s neighborhood website.